


Danny, Grace, and Steve Makes Three

by JurisfictionAgent99



Series: Steve, Danny, and Grace [1]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Grace wants Steve to be her dad too, M/M, Talk about adoption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-08
Updated: 2014-03-08
Packaged: 2018-01-15 00:06:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1283851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JurisfictionAgent99/pseuds/JurisfictionAgent99
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve loves Grace and wants to make sure that he will always be a part of her life. He researches second parent adoptions but isn't sure how Danny or Grace would feel about him adopting her. Grace thinks the world of Uncle Steve and wants to make sure he's always gonna be around.</p><p>Just some happy fluff about how much Steve, Grace, And Danny love each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Danny, Grace, and Steve Makes Three

Steve was sitting at his desk at Five-0 headquarters, reading his screen intently. He had a page on second parent adoptions open, trying to finish up his research about them. Danny, Grace, and himself had been living together for a year now. They weren't married but Steve didn't need that to know that Danny was the one he wanted to spend his life with. 

Their relationship was going great but recently Steve had started thinking about Grace and how he factored into her life. He'd fallen in love with her like he'd fallen for the ocean, immediately and forever. And now he wanted to do something about it; he wanted some way to prove how much she meant to him. And if something ever happened to Danny, he wanted to have legal claim to Grave, wanted to make sure he would be able to still be a part of her life. He hated the idea that she could so easily be taken away from him.

All these thoughts had come to him recently and he hadn't brought the idea of adopting Grace up with Danny yet. He didn't quite know how to broach the subject. What if Danny didn't like it? Or Grace didn't want Steve to be her father? It was a possibility, but given how well they were getting along, how much they felt exactly like a happy family should, it didn't seem like a likelihood. 

"Hey, Steve."

Shit. Steve hadn't heard Danny come in, he quickly changed tabs but was pretty sure Danny had seen him do it. Hopefully he wouldn't come over and see what Steve had been looking at.

"Hey, Danno," Steve stood quickly and moved around the desk to intercept Danny. He would talk to him about this, he would have to, but not right now. He wanted more time to prepare first. "Let's go get lunch," Steve said, shooing Danny toward the door. 

"Steve, do you really think I didn't see you jump a mile when I came in the door? Do you seriously, for a second, believe that I didn't notice you changing your screen when you heard me? Because if you do you need to get your head checked."

"Drop it, Danny."

"Drop it, drop it, I'm most certainly not going to drop it. I want to know what you were looking at and you're going to tell me. Is it those pictures you took of me coming out of the ocean the other day? Don't think I didn't see you taking them."

"Umm," crap, Steve hadn't realized Danny had noticed him taking those. In his defense it would have been a crime to not take a photo of Danny, dripping wet and delicious as he strode out of the water and toward the house. It had been too good a view to pass up. 

"Yeah, that was it," Steve told him, hopefully he would drop the subject.

"Okay, that I don't believe either. I'm not letting this go, Steve. I will find out what you were looking at."

They walked outside and climbed into the car. While Steve drove them to lunch Danny called out ideas of what Steve had been looking at.

"Porn?"

"No."

"Dangerous activities to take Grace to that I would throughly disapprove of?"

"No."

"'Cause it's a pretty long list, Steve."

"I know, Danny, you've been very clear about that."

"Good. 50 ways to get away with beating a perp senseless?"

"No. But if you have that link you should send it to me."

Danny rolled his eyes at his partner.

"Presents to get Grace for her next birthday?"

That gave Steve pause. It was just a couple of months away. Would she like getting a new, permanent father for her birthday? Danny pounced on his hesitation.

"Ha, so it was a gift for Grace. That's cute, Steve, you trying to research the best gift for her. As long as it came from you she will love it. Granted that it doesn't explode," Danny amended, "or ignite, and isn't a weapon."

"Well anything's a weapon if you put your mind to it."

"That is not the answer I want to here, Steven. Not the answer I was looking for at all. In case you were wondering, the correct answer sounds something like this: no, Danny, it isn't dangerous in the slightest; in fact it's so safe it has broken a toy safety record. That's the answer, just for future reference."

Steve just laughed and took Danny's hand. Maybe he would bring it up tonight after Grace had gone to bed. The longer he put it off the more he would start to worry about Danny's reaction and he was worried enough as it was. The sooner they discussed it, the better. Well maybe not 'discussed'. Steve wasn't planning a long dialogue between them so much as he was planning to steamroll Danny with all the reasons this was a great idea until he gave in and agreed. Seemed like a much better way to do things

-

"Okay, you've been strange all day, Steve. So spill, what's eating you? Whatever it is, we can talk about it," Danny said when he got back from tucking Grace into bed that night. He had let the issue go once they'd eaten lunch, deciding it was best to give Steve time to think over whatever he'd been looking at. But now it was time to talk about it. Danny figured he'd been downright generous, giving Steve the entire rest of the day to think instead of pestering him until he succumbed and told Danny whatever it was just to shut him up.  
   
Steve was sitting on the couch. He'd been pacing the room but once he'd heard Danny coming, he'd sat down so he would look more sure of himself as he presented his idea to Danny. This was a big step and he hoped Danny would be open to it. 

"Sit down," Steve said stiffly and patted the seat beside himself.

"Sure," Danny said. He looked questioningly at Steve as he sat down, worried that something was wrong with him. "What's on your mind?"

"I've been doing some thinking lately."

"Then I see the problem, you should leave that all to me."

"I'm serious here, Danny."

"Okay, I'm sorry. Tell me what you've been thinking about."

"Us. You, me, and Grace. I love the family we have here but I want to make it permanent. I want to adopt Grace," Steve held up a hand to silence Danny, who had just opened his mouth, "I know it's only been a year, and we aren't married, but I want to be a permanent part of her life. I love her like crazy and the idea that she could be taken away from me is driving me nuts. She's this incredible person that I'm lucky enough to know and that I get to spend time with, but I want to know that it will always be that way. And I want her to know that. I want her to feel secure with her life here and I think the best way to do that is to legally make me part of her family. I-"

Danny cut him off with a kiss. And not a gentle one either, he had practically hurled himself on Steve in his enthusiasm. 

"You are a goof," Danny told Steve when they finally broke apart. "You do not need to convince me that adopting Grace is a good idea. I'm already there on that one."

"Really?" Steve felt relief pour through him. He relaxed muscles he didn't even know he'd been tensing. Danny wanted this too. Danny was okay letting Steve be another father to the one person he treasured most in the world. 

"Yes, really. Don't look so surprised. Is it really so unbelievable that we've been thinking the same thing?"

"Do you think Grace would want me to? She's old enough that she could say no." He'd read that on the website and he agreed completely. Grace should be allowed a say in whether or not Steve was the person she wanted adopting her. 

"Steven, look at me. There is no universe in which our little monkey would not want you as a father. Do you understand? She loves you and she will absolutely be on board with this."

"Our."

"What?"

"You said 'our', 'our little monkey'."

"Yeah, well, she is." Danny smiled at the thought. It was the most natural thing in the world now, but when he first met Steve he would never have imagined that he would one day be another father to Grace. But he would be wonderful at it. There wasn't a day that went by where he didn't let Grace know how much he loved her.

"Do you think we should start off with something a little less serious than adoption when we talk to her about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she still calls me Uncle Steve. Maybe jumping right into adopting might be moving too fast for her. I don't want her to feel pressured."

Danny kissed him again. 

"I love how much you love our daughter," he told Steve.

"Our," Steve repeated, eyes closed as he leaned against the back of the couch, pulling Danny closer to him. The knowledge that Danny now considered his precious baby girl to be their precious baby girl filled Steve with a warmth he didn't know existed. This moment, this feeling of total contentment, was something Steve would remember forever. 

"So how about we talk to her about it tomorrow, Steve. After the two of you get back from dinner we'll sit down and talk it over."

"Good idea," Steve said. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he would know one way or another how Grace felt. He already had one Williams in his corner, hopefully it would be smooth sailing getting the other one.

-

Friday nights, work permitting, were Steve and Grace's nights together, just the two of them. He would take her out to dinner and then usually some activity he had planned for that night. This Friday he was taking her to a dinner that had fire-dancers performing at it. She couldn't wait, practically vibrating out of her seat with excitement as Steve drove to the restaurant. Danny hadn't exactly been thrilled with the idea, but he'd finally give in with Steve's solemn promise to sit at least 30 feet from the stage and to under no circumstances let Grace go up should they ask for a volunteer.

While they drove Grace thought about asking Danno about possibly calling Steve dad. She was a bit apprehensive about it. What if he didn't want to be her dad and it made things awkward? The fact that Steve loved her was never a question. It was just that agreeing to be someone's father was a big deal and he might not be ready. She been thinking about it for a few weeks now, but wasn't sure how to bring it up.

She and Steve had so much fun together. They spent time together, just the two of them, every week. She always looked forward to Friday nights and the cool things Steve always planned for them. Things she wouldn't get to do with Danno because he worried too much. If she asked Steve to be her dad and he said no, would they still spend so much time together? She hoped so, but she hoped even more he would say yes.

Steve and Danny seemed happier than her parents ever had but that didn't mean that it would last forever. Her parents had gotten divorced so she knew it was possible that Steve wouldn't be around forever. The thought made her sad and she hoped that it never happened. She wanted Steve around always. After her parents had gotten divorced she had still seen her mom and dad. If Steve and Danny broke up would she still get to see Steve? Danno would probably let her if she asked.

"Why the long face?" Steve asked, breaking into Grace's thoughts. She had been quiet for longer than usual and when he'd looked over she'd seemed sad. Was something wrong? Were the kids picking on her at school? She hadn't said anything but he couldn't think of what else might be upsetting her.

"It's nothing, Uncle Steve."

"If it's bothering you, it's not nothing," Steve said, seriously. "Whatever it is you can tell me. I promise. And I'll do my best to make it better, okay?" he patted her head, trying to comfort her and reassure her he was here for whatever she could possibly need.

"Well," Grace hesitated, not sure if she should talk about it. Was she supposed to ask Danno first? Did she need his permission to ask Steve to be her father? What if he didn't want Steve to be her dad? But he loved Steve, and they wouldn't all live together if he wasn't someone Danno thought was good for her. Right? Right.

Steve waited patiently, thumb stroking Grace's hair.

Another minute passed and then Grace spoke all in a rush, "Are you always going to be around?"

"What?" Steve was startled.

"Are you always going to be around ?" Grace repeated, "Are you always going to be a part of my family?" she looked at him, waiting for him to respond.

They pulled into the parking lot and Steve parked before answering. He wanted his full attention on Grace for this. After cutting the ignition Steve leaned over, undid Grace's seatbelt, and then carefully lifted her over and onto his lap. 

"Grace, I will be in your life for as long as you want me to be. I promise. I love you and I will always want you in my life." Danny had been working with him and helping him express his feeling, and if there was ever a time to be transparent about how much someone meant to him, this was the moment.

"But sometimes people split up," Grace said as she looked up at Steve's face. "Mom and Danno did."

Steve took a deep breath, "I will do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen, but if it does," he looked right at her, trying to convey how serious he was about this, "I will still love you Grace and want to be a part of your life, if you'll still have me. Do you understand?" He didn't want there to be a doubt in her mind that he wasn't going to let her go without a knock-down, drag-out fight. He adored this little girl who for some reason loved him back. And that was something that astounded him every day, that someone he was so crazy about was crazy about him too. 

Grace nodded solemnly and hugged herself tighter against Steve's chest. They sat like that for a few minutes, enjoying the quiet closeness. Steve held her as tight as he could without hurting her, trying to squeeze into her all the love he felt.

"I'm hungry. Let's go inside," Grace said, breaking the silence. 

"Good idea," Steve said. He opened the door and climbed out, still holding Grace. He set her down gently, then held his arm out for her to take. She giggled and took hold of it. Then Steve escorted her inside.

The dinner was a lot of fun. Grace loved the fire-dancers and asked Steve if he knew how to breathe fire like they did. He figured he probably could but didn't say that. Danny had drilled it into his head that fire and his daughter were not two things that were supposed to go together. He didn't think at-home demonstrations of fire breathing would be considered acceptable.

Time passed quickly and soon they were ready to go home. Grace chatted in the car, giving Steve a play by play of all her favorite moments. It warmed him up inside that she had enjoyed it so much. He was always pleased when his ideas impressed Grace. Besides Danny's, her opinion was of the utmost importance to him.

They pulled up to the house and Grace climbed out quickly and ran to where Danny was waiting for them.

"It was a success I take it," he said as an excited Grace bounded into his arms and began telling him all about dinner.

"Seems that way," Steve said, kissing Danny hello. The three of them went into the house and Danny set Grace down so she could go change into her pajamas.

Steve waited until Grace was out of earshot, "Danny, in the car Grace was asking me if I was always going to be around. She wanted to know if she would still get to see me even if you and I didn't work out."

"Oh, I didn't know she was worrying about that. Good thing we're going to talk about it now," Danny said, going quiet for a moment. He ran a hand over his hair. This wasn't something he had ever thought to worry about, how stable Grace thought her new family was. It made sense though. He and Rachel had been married but it still hadn't worked out. Now he and Steve were living together but they hadn't made any kind of commitment to each other, how was Grace to know how long Steve was going to be around. 

Danny finally spoke, "You and I both know that this is pretty much it for us right? We're in this for the long haul." 

Steve nodded.

"So we just need to make sure Grace understands that," Danny said.

Steve spoke, "I told her I would still want to see her even if you and I ended things." 

"Good," he said, "She loves you, Steve and I always want you to be there for her. Let's go in to the living room and get ready to talk to her about the whole adopting thing."

"Are you sure we should lead with that?" Steve asked, "It might be too much."

"Grace is a tough cookie, she'll be fine. I promise." Danny kissed Steve on the nose and then called for Grace to meet them in the living room.

The three of them sat on the couch together, Grace squeezed between Danny and Steve. She looked up at them expectantly. 

"What is it?" she asked.

"Steve and I have something we would like to talk to you about."

"It's about what we were talking about in the car earlier," Steve told her. 

"I've been thinking about that a lot lately," Grace told him seriously.

"What have you been thinking, Monkey?" Danny asked her. She turned to look at him instead.

"Well," she started and then paused, "Well, I've been thinking about how much I love Steve, and how happy we are here together," she looked at Steve as though to check that he agreed with her. He smiled and kissed the top of her head, making her giggle. "And I would like," she took a deep breath, "Steve to be my dad too." She looked quickly between the two, looking for a reaction. She didn't have long to wait. 

As soon as the words had left her mouth both men had reached down and enveloped her in a huge bear hug. Steve was kissing her hair and hugging her fit to burst while Danny was tickling her and planting kisses all over her laughing face. 

"Quit that, Danno; Daddy, let me up," she shouted, breathless with giggles. 

Danny stopped kissing her for a moment and looked at Steve, "Daddy," he said, "that's you now." 

"Yeah, yeah it is," Steve said quietly, trying to keep his voice steady. But Danny could see the wetness in his eyes, could tell just how much that one little word meant to Steve. And he loved his daughter so much for giving that to him. 

"So it's okay?" Grace double checked.

"Monkey, this is so far beyond okay even the Hubble telescope can't find it," Danny told her earnestly. 

"So, there was something else we wanted to talk to you about," Steve said. He felt bolder about brining it up, now that Grace thought of him as her father. Her father, Steve could hardly believe his good fortune. He didn't know how he'd gotten lucky enough to have this family but he was going to do his best to always do right by them. 

"You know what we were talking about in the car? About how I would always be around no matter what?"

"Even if you and Danno broke up you would still want to see me," Grace nodded. 

"Exactly. Well, there's this thing called second-parent-,"

"Adoptions," Grace finished for him, "I know, I looked it up online."

"Oh you did, did you?" Danny asked, ticking her again. " When did you do that?"

"At school, on the computer in the library."

"What did you find out about it?" Steve asked.

"That even if you and Danno aren't married, you can still adopt me. That way even if you break up, which I hope you never ever do, you will still be my daddy."

"You sure know your stuff, monkey," Danny told her, "And how would you feel if Steve adopted you?"

"Rachel would still be your mom, you would just have three parents instead of two," Steve quickly added. He didn't want her to think she would have to choose between him and her mom.

"I think it would be great. We could have a party to celebrate," Grace said, excitedly.

"Oh I see, this was all a ploy to get cake was it?" Danny said.

"And cocoa puffs," Grace added solemnly while Steve laughed.

"Of course, how could I forget those." Danny smacked himself on the forehead. "But seriously, you would like it?" he asked.

"Of course, Danno," Grace said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Steve wrapped his arms even tighter around her and kissed the top of her head. 

"I love you, Grace," he told her. 

"I love you too, daddy," she said.

Tomorrow Danny and Steve would start figuring out how to make this whole adoption thing happen, who to talk to, what paperwork had to be filled out. But tonight, right now, they would sit here and enjoy the moment, committing the feeling of utter joy and belonging to memory. Tonight was the first night they would officially be a family. Even if the paperwork hadn't been started, much less finalized, the night Grace called Steve Daddy for the first time was the night their journey as a family began. And Steve planned to enjoy every moment of it.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just pretending that Grace can have three legal parents for this fic. No idea if that's actually legal.
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


End file.
